• 3Nov 09

  Left 4 Dead 2 demo impressions

  I'll just start off by saying that I wasn't a fan of the first Left 4 Dead. It was a solid game, but it just didn't seem as fun as other shooters at the time (particularly resistance 2). For a game built on co-op, it didn't seem as fun as Resistance 2 or Gears 2's co-op modes. It was still a fun game and had its moments. I just felt that it is overrated by fans of Valve.

  Now, going in to L4D2, I had low expectations, and they were met. The game play exactly the same as L4D, with a few add-ons here and there. I felt somewhat disappointed that they're throwing this game out in a year with minimal improvements. It honestly seems like it can all be DLC.

  The guns are slightly different, but the core gameplay is exactly the same. Everything feels the same, so if you were a fan of L4D, you will feel at home here. Character movements feel a little bit slower in this game, but other than that, it's all the same.

  It's pretty fun when you're playing with friends, but is it really worth the money? Short answer? No. Long answer? Because this is a very small upgrade from L4D and it doesn't warrant a $60 purchase. If you absolutely loved the first one and all your friends are ditching it to buy this one, then I guess it's okay for you to buy it too.

  I just feel that the game doesn't offer much more than the first one. However, smacking infected with a guitar is pretty damn fun

  Overall, I would suggest this only to hardcore-est of the hardcore L4D fans out there. The PC version is definitely the way to go here.

  I hope Valve doesn't pop out new L4D's every year like COD.

  Anyway, this is just my opinion. Feel free to disagree/flame me in the comments.

  Overall, I think the game is a nice solid FPS and a ton of fun with friends, but IMO it doesn't really deserve your hard earned $60 ($50 on PC).

  • Posted Nov 3, 2009 9:21 pm PT
  • Category: Games
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• 11Oct 09

  Final Fantasy IX turns 9 (review) [LONG READ]

  Hello to all you readers of my blog. This is a long read, so be prepared or be leaving . Anyway, next month (November 14 to be exact), my favorite game of all time (Final Fantasy IX) turns 9 years old (NA release). So I decided to do my review of it. Gamespot's review of this game somewhat ticked me off. I know others don't like it as much as me, but IMO it deserves atleast a 9 on here (it's the highest rated Final Fantasy on metacritic)

  Anyway, here goes the review:

  (btw, if the review doesn't make you want to play this, go do it anyway. You'll enjoy yourself)

  In 1997, Squaresoft released the infamous Final Fantasy VII, the first in the series to use pre rendered backgrounds and it was a huge hit. It was extremely hard to hate this game. The way I see it, you either love it or you like it but think it's over praised. Anyway, it was set in a modern-futuristic world with core Final Fantasy elements (magic, summons, etc.) It was considered a huge leap forward from the settings found in the previous Final Fantasies.

  Then in 1999, they released Final Fantasy VIII, whose goal was to take the series even further and convey the sense of realism with the core Final Fantasy elements. Once you load up the game you'll immediately notice the graphics and art-style and how they reflect upon the game's realistic feel.

  Before production of FF VIII was complete, Square started working on another title, due for release the next year. It was expected by fans to go even more forward, but being the last Final Fantasy on the PlayStation, Squaresoft wanted the game to reflect upon what the series had accomplished in the last 13 years. Final Fantasy IX ditched the cyber punk feel of FF VII and the realism of FF VIII to go for a more tradition feel.

  The world was just started to harness Steam and Mist to power airships and cars. The main thing about FF IX is that it feels perfect for a game entitled "Final Fantasy". You'll immediately love the art style and characters that await you in this.

  ~Music~

  Now this is a Final Fantasy, so music is a huge aspect. Nobuo Uematsu had already set the bar in FF VII and VIII, but in FF IX, he nails it. Some of the music may feel dull and uninspiring, but for the most part it is all amazing, especially the Boss Battle theme. The main theme of the game is Melodies of Life, and it has many variations that play as you go through the game. These are just examples and the game features an amazing OST with tons of memorable songs.

  10/10

  ~Graphics~

  Simply put, this is one of the best looking games on the PlayStation. The character models are great, the pre rendered backgrounds look beatiful, Zidane doesn't have boxes for hands like Cloud and just about everything in the game looks great. There is a lot of color in it which add to the atmosphere. Each and every environment is completely different and they all look fabulous (when you consider how old this game is, that is). The special effects in the battles are also a treat. Magic attacks look superb and the animations never get old. Summons are even better, with an animation playing back of the creature pwn-ing your enemies.

  The FMV's are even better and are just beautiful to watch (even for the 100th time). The scenes just come to life as you watch them and it adds to the whole experience.

  10/10

  ~Gameplay~

  Okay, the most important part of any game is the gameplay. This is another aspect that Final Fantasy IX champions. You won't find much challenge to it, but that's great since newcomers to JRPGs can enjoy themselves without being punished. For example, I have a good friend who dislikes RPGs in general. He was never able to like FF X on PS2. I showed him FF IX, and he loves it and it's his favorite RPG so far. The gameplay is accessible and fun. There's no drawing magic like in FF VIII. Instead, there's a job system where different abilities are exclusive to characters. For example, there's one black mage, and he's the only one who can cast black magic (Fire, Blizzard, Thunder, Flare, etc). There is one white mage who can summon beasts, and one summoner who can cast white magic (there's a difference )

  This job system makes the game far more accessible and it felt much more enjoyable than FF VIII's system of drawing spells from enemies and junctioning summons.

  The core gameplay is like most JRPGs. The battle is turn-based and you command 1-4 characters to perform attacks on the enemies or support your team. Be careful when selecting attacks however because enemies will not wait for you to choose your command. They will continue to beat the **** out of you.

  Outside of combat, you will be walking around and doing small quests that are part of the main story such as finding key items or some information that will help you on your quest. There are a few side quests and mini games, but they're not as important as the side quests that you find in WRPGs.

  10/10

  ~Story~

  This is a HUGE part of JRPGs and RPGs in general. Most Final Fantasies have the same story: kill the badguy, but with a few plot twists. FF IX doesn't deviate too far from the working formula, but the thing that's great about FF IX is the way the story unfolds. There are active-time events in which you will see the story unfold from the perspective of different characters. This adds to the great character development found in the game. Every character is unique and they all (except 1) play a unique role in the story.

  Also, while there's a main story, there's also a theme to the game: self identity. Everyone is trying to find out the purpose of life and why they are in the world. The way that unfolds is unique and a nice touch to an already great story.

  The general plot is that the main character, Zidane, is part of a theater group, Tantalus, who are also theives. They are given orders to kidnap the princess of Alexandria, Garnet, and take her to Regent Cid in Lindblum. The plan goes somewhat accordingly. It turns out that Princess Garnet actually wants to be kidnapped and she wants to go see Cid. How convenient eh? Well not so much. Queen Brahne of Alexandria wants to stop this by all means, and she damages the ship that Zidane and co. try to get away in, causing the airship to crash in the Evil Forest. On board is a black mage, Vivi, who accidentally got tangled up in this mess, and Garnet's "security guard", Steiner. Zidane and Steiner start off on the wrong foot, and seemingly hate each other for most of the game.

  Anyway, they manage to save Garnet, but the Evil Forest gets petrified, along with Zidane's "bro" Blank. The party manages to escape, and they make it to the Village of Dali, where they see a bunch of black mages being manufactured. This is where the main theme starts to unfold. From here on out, Vivi wonders if he has an actual purpose, or if he's just another puppet of destruction.

  The party makes it to Lindblum, and I will stop talking about the story here just so I don't spoil it for any of you potential buyers who haven't experienced this masterpiece.

  10/10

  ~Replay Value~

  This is an RPG, so expect about 40+ hours on your first playthrough if you include grinding time. The game spans across 4 discs, with Disc 3 being the longest. Then Disc 1, then 2, and then 4 being the shortest. However, a lot of people spend the most time on Disc 4 because you can go pretty much anywhere and finish anything that you need to do. It is possible (and easy) to rush through the game and beat it in 12 hours (you get a prize for doing so! YAY!) but i HIGHLY reccomend you don't do that on your first play through. Overall, you are getting tons of entertainment for your dollar.

  10/10

  ~Overall~

  FF IX is an experience like no other (for me atleast ) The story unfolds with great pace, the characters come to life, the music is just amazing, graphics look wonderful, gameplay is fun as ever, and to top it all, it lasts a good 50 hours with tons of replay value to go back and collect treasures and goodies. If you're a fan of RPGs go pick this up on eBay NOW!

  10/10

  • Posted Oct 11, 2009 10:30 pm PT
  • Category: Games
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• 18Sep 09

  Uncharted 2 multiplayer beta impressions

  Okay, hey guys who read my blog (yup, all two of you ). This is just a quick blog about my impressions of the Uncharted 2 multiplayer beta.

  In short, it is awesome! Very fun to play, especially when you are winning

  Now here's the full story:

  Pretty much everything from the single player of Uncharted: Drake's Fortune can be done in the multiplayer. It's crazy with guys climbing everywhere, cover hopping, hanging off ledges, and well, you get the point. The thing about this is that it makes sure that the gameplay stays fresh. You won't always be shooting. The action/adventure aspect of the game makes the gameplay feel fresh everytime you play it, while also feeling rewarding when you shoot people.

  The weapons all feel fun to fire and they are all perfectly balanced. There is a huge variety of weapons when compared with the first game. Weapons listed in red are guns from the first game, while weapons in blue are newer ones. You have the AK47 which is the standard weapon for standard deathmatch modes, and then there's the 92FS semi-auto pistol. Around the map, you will pick up other weapons, such as other assault rifles such as the M4, and the FAL which has a 3 round burst. Then there are the shotguns: the SAS 12 and the MOSS 12, both of which are great for running around and hip firing. The MK NDI grenades also make a return. I did find a small problem with the grenades. They are a tad bit overpowered. While it seems logical to have very powerful grenades, it gets a little annoying considering the game has a dedicated grenade buttong (L2) when compared to the first game where grenades had to be manually equipped using the D-Pad. This makes grenade spamming A LOT easier and yep, you guessed it, very annoying. But the one good thing is that unlike grenades in most shooters, Uncharted 2's grenades explode after a certain amount of time AFTER landing, making it easier to jump out of the blast radius. (I also noticed that jumping up right when the grenade was about the blast made me invincible to it.) Other weapons include the Desert Eagle, the Micro Uzi, RPG, and the Pistole (an extremely lethal sawed off shotgun).

  Now what good is having great weapons if the game modes aren't fun? Uncharted has a few different game modes which are all tons of fun to play. You have deathmatch, which is basically killing the other team until time runs out or you reach the kill limit. There are a few variations to this, each with different weapon loadouts. There is also elimination, which is basically like Socom. No respawn until the end of the round. This is also tons of fun to play, but can sometimes get annoying with cheap deaths.

  The more interesting game modes are the team objective modes. I only got to play plunder, which is basically CTF with treasures. It is tons of fun to play, especially since you can treat the treasure as a projectile and toss it around everywhere.

  Finally, we have the co-op modes. You have the co-op campaign, which isn't exactly the same as the single player, but has its own missions tailored for two or more people. This is pretty challenging when you don't work together, but it is very rewarding when you get through various checkpoints. There are also treasures to find in the co-op mode. The other co-op mode is basically like horde mode from Gears of War 2. You and two other people fight waves of enemies, while trying to collect treasures. It is very fun, but I found it to be slightly boring if the person/people don't have mics or don't communicate with you.

  The verdict:

  The good:

  • The gameplay, fortunately, is the same as the first game, with more emphasis on vertical platforming. This adds so much more the to gameplay, making it feel fresh all the time
  • Rewards system works like they do in games like Call of Duty 4 and Killzone 2
  • Graphics look amazing for consoles
  • Weapons are fantastic and map layout is perfect for the game modes
  • Cinema mode is a nice feature and adds more personality to the game
  • Very fun game modes that are even more fun with friends (and headsets )

  The bad:

  • Melee is a little overpowered
  • Cheap deaths in elimination can be frustrating
  • Most people only use the Ak47

  Overall:

  I honestly didn't expect the muultiplayer to be this good. I thought it would just be a compliment to the single player, but it turns out the the multiplayer alone is worth getting the game for (although I'm still looking forward to the campaign more )

  So shut down your computer and go pre-order this now! And add me on PSN-rustysteiner if you want to play (Also add me if you play LittleBigPlanet, Resistance 1&2, Killzone 2, or Street Fighter IV)

  • Posted Sep 18, 2009 11:07 pm PT
  • Category: Games
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